Government asks high court to hear transgender military case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to fast-track cases on the president's decision to prevent certain transgender people from serving in the military.

The administration asked the court on Friday to take up three cases on the issue. Lower courts had blocked the administration from implementing the policy.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in one of the cases in October but hasn't ruled.

The administration had warned that it would ask the high court to step in if the appeals court didn't rule before Friday. The administration wants the Supreme Court to be able to rule on the issue before the summer.

The justices don't typically take cases before federal appeals courts rule on them.